Look After You
by qaby
Summary: All it takes is Elena saving Damon's life for her to realize that he was her true savior all along.
1. Hero Heroine

**A/N: Umm, so yeah, another D/E one-shot, because I was inspired yet again by my girlies at FF, so this is for y'all...And I kind of have this thing of being obsessed with book quotes, so I included yet another one...:) And yes, I know Alaric is totally OOC here...or is he???**

**Disclaimer: I. Don't. Fucking. Own. The Vampire Diaries. Stop. Fucking. Rubbing. It. In.**

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She sat down on a fallen tree trunk, flinching a bit as her backside touched the cold bark. Elena took in her surroundings, sighing as all she could see were trees, and vaguely hoped that she would be able to remember her way back to the clearing.

_CRUNCH_

She turned around quickly, scanning the area for even the smallest sign of disturbance. She swallowed, trying to ease the dryness that had accumulated in her throat. Elena suddenly regretted not letting Caroline and Bonnie to tag along when they offered, instead telling Caroline to go ahead on her one-year-anniversary-date with Matt, and telling Bonnie that it was okay for her to practice her witchcraft for a bit, instead insisting that she needed time alone.

She did.

She needed to be able to process the heap of information Stefan had thrown her way.

Finding out that her younger adoptive brother's history teacher's deceased wife was a possible candidate for her birth mother, thus making aforementioned history teacher--who also happens to be a vampire hunter--a possible candidate for her birth father was not really sitting well with Elena at the moment.

She made sure to breathe evenly and quietly so she wouldn't make much noise. She strained her ears, listening for any more sounds, but when nothing but silence was to be heard, it served only to make her even more uneasy.

_CRUNCH_

She turned around so quickly it gave her whiplash and couldn't help the sigh of utter relief that escaped her lips when she saw that it was just a rabbit.

"I've told you before, I'm not responsible for all the deaths going on in this hick of a town."

Elena's eyes bugged wide as she heard someone shouting, but her fear immediately died down when she noted that the angry, beautiful voice held some familiarity. Her eyebrows furrowed.

_What is Damon doing here?_

She stepped forward in the direction his voice was coming from.

"You really expect me to believe that, Salvatore?"

Elena stopped mid-step as she ran through her head the possibilities of whom that voice could belong to.

"I don't care what you believe _Saltzman_. I'm telling you now, and I'm telling you as nicely as I possibly can, which means that you are a very lucky man. Leave. Elena. _Alone_."

Elena's mouth dropped at the conversation. She almost instinctively shivered at the ice in Damon's voice, even though he was defending her against Alaric, but then why--

Wait.

Damon was _defending _Elena.

Elena stood frozen, processing this a thousand times in her head, though it just couldn't seem to make sense. And then a slow smile started stretching her lips apart, because she realized she had been right all along.

_He cares._

She knew that his endless taunting of his younger brother and his forever engraved smirk was all just a facade. It seemed as though the incident with Katherine didn't really make her believe that, well, because Damon was even more of an asshole than he usually was after the whole tomb situation, and Elena pretty much avoided him.

But avoiding Damon was far from easy.

Elena then remembered that her mission was to find aforementioned leather-wearing vampire and she continued on her path, going deeper into the forest.

"Are you seriously asking me to do that?!"

"I'm not asking you to do anything. I'm _telling_ you. There's a difference."

If Elena didn't have a bad feeling about the whole ordeal, she might've rolled her eyes at Damon's snarky response. She finally got close enough so that she could see two figures outlined in the darkness before her with her human eyes.

She knew that Damon sensed her presence. Hell, he would be able to sense a squirrel a thousand yards away, but yet, he made no sign of knowing she was standing there.

Alaric started shaking his head. "Why would you want to protect Elena? All you've done is bring her pain!" he exclaimed, carrying on with the matter at hand.

For this, Damon had absolutely no snarky retort, as his jaw simply set and his eyes narrowed at the vampire hunter before him, who, if it were up to the elder Salvatore brother, would be lying lifeless on the ground right now, but he came armed, and this time he managed to get a hold of the gun that shot wooden bullets, so all Damon could do was distract him with an argument until he was caught off-guard and then he would be able to happily rip his throat out.

Damon quickly looked to where he knew Elena was standing, wondering if he hurt her _that _much.

From where she was standing, Elena could see Damon having an internal battle, and she wanted to assure him that he didn't bring her any pain, because he'd never done anything to hurt her.

Alaric looked down to the ground as he realized the words that just came out of his mouth. "All you do is bring _everyone _pain," he continued, and his voice had suddenly taken on a much darker tone. "You're a monster, and no one wants you around."

Before Damon could even process Alaric's change of mood, he had four bullets in his chest. One hit a little bit _too _close to home for a certain vampire's liking, and he grunted, feeling the blood starting to seep through his shirt.

Elena gaped for a nanosecond before she realized that Damon was in danger and ran forward, kneeling beside him where he had fallen to the ground and laying his head on her lap.

"Elena..." she heard Alaric whisper, and she ignored him, looking around the forest floor desperately, making sure that Damon's eyes never closed, and they didn't. If anything, they were amused at her panic, and, if he wasn't dying at the moment, she would've definitely slapped him again.

When she finally found what she was looking for two feet away, she reached over and finally responded to her possible father. "Get away from here," she ground out through her teeth, and she could sense that he was beginning to walk away sadly. Elena didn't fucking care whether he was depressed or overjoyed, because at the moment, her mind could only process two words.

_Save Damon._

She took a deep breath, but she looked over at Damon, who was confused and getting paler by the second, and she found all the motivation she needed.

Human blood saved vampires, and that's what Damon needed. Human blood.

And Elena was going to make sure he got it.

She held the rock in her right hand and scraped its strangely accurate serrated edge against the back of her hand quickly, trying not to yelp out in pain as she felt it cut through her skin. She looked on in satisfaction when her hand was coated in blood right away.

She put her hand on the back of Damon's neck and leaned it towards her hand, trying to pry his lips open, but he stubbornly kept them closed. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Drink, Damon," she ordered.

He shook his head with the little strength he had left, and Elena's heart melted, broke, and was stolen all at the same time. He was willing to die so he wouldn't drain her. He was willing to put her well-being before his, as he'd never really done with anyone before. And she was willing to give up her life in order to save his.

She loved him. His resistance to drink her blood was all it took for her to make that surprising revelation. The fact that Damon was being selfless toward her was the breaking point, because if Elena was being honest with herself, she would admit that constantly denying her growing feelings for Damon was tiring.

She looked at him endearingly, grabbing one of his hands in her clean one and pressing a reassuring kiss to the inside of his palm. He stared back at her in astonishment, and she simply nodded and started running her clean hand through his hair as she pressed her bloody hand to his lips once more, and this time, they opened hesitantly and he started drinking.

Elena was surprised at the fact that it didn't hurt. She didn't feel like the life was being sucked out of her. She felt...amazing. She was simply overjoyed that she was helping Damon somehow and that turned out to take full effect as she was giving him her blood.

Maybe that's why she felt so incredible. Maybe it was because she was _giving _it to him, knowing that it would help him in the end, instead of him forcefully taking it against her will, where she was sure it wouldn't feel nearly as pleasant.

She looked down to Damon, only to find that his eyes were closed as if he were in deep concentration. She noticed giddily that he was starting to regain some of the little color he had to his cheeks and that there was no more blood soaking up his shirt.

Her fingers were still threaded in his hair as her vision started blurring a bit, but she could faintly see Damon still drinking, and she was once again reminded that she was saving his life, so she didn't bring it up.

Damon took his lips off of Elena's hand. "Thank you," he told her fervently, and she simply smiled back at him.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

And then the world went black.

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Elena awoke in an unfamiliar setting. She looked around the room she'd never seen before, but once she saw Damon's leather jacket hanging on a chair in the far corner, she deduced that this must be his room.

He was there, pushing her back onto the bed slowly before she had time to blink.

"Are you alright?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he gave her a smile. "Of course. After feeding you some of my blood so you wouldn't die, I left you to rest so I could get my midnight snack. I think her name was Heather..."

She smiled, knowing in the back of her mind that she wasn't supposed to be smiling when he had just freely admitted he had killed someone, but it was _Damon_. "I'm glad. That you're okay, I mean."

After that, she just stared at him, a silence filling the air that wasn't exactly awkward because it was so comfortable, but yet it wasn't exactly comfortable because it was too awkward. She didn't really know how to be around him knowing that she loved him. With Stefan it was easy, I mean, they were dating and it was her only hope of having him stay by her side.

With Damon...well, they haven't even kissed, the closest they'd ever gotten is by exchanging a slew of insults, and somehow, she knew Damon would never leave.

She averted her eyes. She started getting up. "I guess I should go..."

He couldn't let her go, not with the knowledge that she had just risked her life and nearly died, all just to restore him back to his normal self. It was all so much to take in. One minute she wanted him, the next she swore she loved Stefan, and then she went back to hating him. Elena Gilbert would always be a mystery. But he was going to make damn sure that he would eventually unravel it.

Just when her feet were about to hit the floor, she felt him grab her hand. She turned slowly, staring at their joined hands. He pursed his lips and he could hear him swallow before his eyes met hers again.

"Stay."

She nodded, and with that motion, she could feel her vervain necklace chain sliding across her neck, and she knew her decision was of her own making. She climbed back into bed and laid beside him, not making any contact, just staring into his eyes.

When he hesitantly put his hand over her hand again, leaving a burning hot trail wherever his skin made contact with hers, she smiled at him again.

Deciding to risk it a bit, she wrapped her arm around his waist and laid her head on his chest. She felt him freeze at first, but he slowly got the hint and started running his fingers up and down her back soothingly.

"Is this going to become a regular occurrence or something? Because all this life-saving is really starting to wear me out," she teased.

She didn't have to look at him to know that he was smiling.

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The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle

_D: "Don't push me, Elena."  
E: "I think, that maybe, you _need _to be pushed."_

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**REVIEW!!!!! :)**


	2. Enjoy The Silence

**A/N: Haha, I'm glad y'all liked it so much that you wanted a sequel....and I provided, I'm thinking that I really need to stop being such a pushover, :P**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries...:[**

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Elena's eyes opened slowly and she couldn't help the small smile that started spreading itself across her lips when the first thing she saw was that Damon was sleeping soundly, his chest rising evenly under her palm.

She vaguely recognized that the digital clock on his bedside table indicated that it was 2:17 a.m. She had only slept for two and a half hours, and although her eyelids felt heavier than ever, Damon's image made her want to battle against the sleep that was trying to overcome her.

Elena reached out, her hand gently caressing his cheek, and she had to restrain the giggle that was threatening to burst from behind her lips when, as she was pulling her hand away, his lips slightly jutted out in an adorable pout.

His eyes started to open and she bit her lip, anxiously awaiting his reaction. When he turned and fixed his sly cobalt gaze on her, she relaxed a bit more, because there was no hint of regret or hesitation in the depth of his orbs. She sighed and leaned back into his embrace once more, relishing in the feel of his skin against hers.

"Elena."

She smiled, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Hmm?"

"What were you doing in the woods anyway?" he asked inquisitively.

Trying to fight her way through the hazy fog of sleep deprivation, she thought back to what took her to the woods, thus leading her to find Damon and Alaric arguing.

Thus leading her to save his life.

"I had just found out that Alaric might be my father, and I needed some time alone," she answered truthfully. She faintly heard him gulp, and when she looked up at him, his eyebrows were furrowed as if he were deep in thought. She really wanted to wipe that look off his face, and though she knew it was selfish, she wanted to be Damon's center of attention. Letting out a chuckle, she continued. "Did you know that it was Matt and Caroline's one-year anniversary yesterday?"

He raised an eyebrow in mild interest. "Is that so?" he inquired, the self-satisfied smirk she'd grown accustomed to appearing on his face once more.

She nodded.

"Well, I guess that's good for our resident blondies," he teased, and Elena rolled her eyes, thinking that with anyone else, she would defend her friends' characters, but this was _Damon_. And, as she saw it, if Damon offended someone, it was his own way of expressing the affinity with said person. The realization that she was the only person he was sweet to made her grin like an idiot, and he gave her a questioning look before shaking his head and chuckling.

"Do you miss it?"

He cocked his head to the side. "What exactly are you referring to?"

She shrugged her shoulder against his ribcage. "You know...the feeling of being in a relationship, I mean."

Elena watched as his eyes grew slightly more glassy, as if they were in some far away land, but then they warmed by a fraction and he smirked. But there was more to it. She _knew_ that smirk. It wasn't his _I'm-Damon-and-I'm-immortal-which-makes-me-better-than-you _smirk, it was his _I'm-trying-to-cover-up-what-I-truly-feel _smirk. She then inwardly scoffed at the fact that she seemed to know how to differ his facial expressions from one another so precisely.

"Can't miss what was never really yours," he answered, and her heart just about shattered at his broken confession, or that's what she was taking it as anyways, because with Damon, a true broken confession was pushing the limit.

Shaking her head slightly, she muttered, "I'm sorry."

He leaned in closer to her, their faces now mere inches apart, and her lips parted a bit in anticipation.

"You're not to blame, Elena," he assured her, leaning in even more. All she could think about was how she _wanted_ to be able to give Damon happiness, because she honestly believed he deserved it. His lips quirked at the corners. She _wanted_ to give him all the love she could and all the love she couldn't. Their lips were a hairsbreadth apart. She _wanted_ to make him feel happy in a relationship like she used to feel with Stefan...

_Stefan._

She turned suddenly, reminding herself fiercely that she was still in a relationship with Stefan, and here she was, about to kiss his older brother. Damon's lips caught her cheek, and instead of questioning her like she expected, he pulled away, getting up with a sigh.

"St. Stefan cross your mind?"

Immediately Elena's hand went to her cheek, where she tried to commit the feel of his lips on her skin as a memory, already missing him beside her. She nodded as a response to his question, and he just quirked an eyebrow, not amused, not understanding.

"I can't."

Grabbing his leather jacket, and muttering an _"Of course you can. Your car's in the front, please try not to crash"_ Damon exited the Salvatore boarding house, leaving a gaping Elena in his wake.

And wondering when the hell someone _wouldn't_ think of Stefan when they were around him.

Elena wiped furiously at the traitor tears that were starting to spill quickly down her cheeks, cursing herself for letting the moment go, but praising herself for stopping the progression in what she was sure was the _1864 2.0_ situation by turning away from Damon's affection. She wouldn't be Katherine.

She _wouldn't_.

But even though she would never be anything like Katherine, she couldn't help but notice that history was repeating itself and she had to restrain the urge to scream.

She was stuck.

Stuck between believing she was meant to be with Stefan and wanting to try things out with Damon. Stuck between wanting Damon and needing Stefan. Stuck between wanting Stefan and needing Damon.

_Stuck between loving both._

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The Vampire Diaries: The Fury

_But then she remembered something else, just a flash: looking up at Damon's face in the woods and feeling such—such excitement, such affinity with him. As if he understood the flame that burned inside her as nobody else ever could. As if together they could do anything they liked, conquer the world or destroy it; as if they were better than anyone else who had ever lived._

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**A/N: So I have officially mapped out the storyline for 'Look After You', and I can officially say that there will be four more chappies after this one, (and yes, all of them will include some DE-related book-quote at the end :])so I hope all you awesome readers stick around and leave me tons of reviews, because they motivate me so much more.**

**Chappie 1 name is based off of the song by Boys Like Girls, and Chappie 2 name is based off the song by Anberlin.**

**REVIEW!!!!! :]**


	3. Thinking Of You

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**A/N: Chappie tres!!!! :] So, it's taken me forever to update this, I know, and I sincerely apologize. I hope to update and you'll have chappie four by next Friday.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries.**

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"Elena?"

She lifted her head from where it was buried in her hands, surprised to see Stefan standing in Damon's bedroom doorway, and once he saw that tears were running down her face, he hurried to her quickly, inspecting every inch of her face and exposed skin for any injuries. She looked at him, saw the worried turmoil going on in those forest oak depths of his eyes, and broke down again, clinging to the fabric of his shirt as his hand was supporting her head comfortingly.

"What did Damon do?" he ground out fiercely. Elena realized that she was still on Damon's bed, so she could understand how he got the idea that his older brother was to blame for her being in this state. But what sparked within her when he immediately blamed Damon shocked them both.

"Why do you automatically assume Damon did something? He's not the cause of every bad thing that happens to me, you know," she defended, her jaw set, eyes blazing.

His eyebrows raised and he looked at her in disbelief, but then shrugged and looked back at her, serious expression on his face. "Okay. So, then why are you crying?"

She bit her lip to stop it from trembling as she averted her eyes from his trusting and worried gaze and gulped loudly, choosing not to lie to him, because lying would make everything so much worse. "Stefan," she whispered, blinking away the tears that wouldn't seem to stop. "I don't want to tell you." When he simply gave her a nod of acceptance, it somehow inclined her to continue. "Because you'll hate me."

He shook his head, holding both sides of her face in his hands, making her look at him. "Elena. I could never hate you. Now tell me what has you so upset," he ordered, his eyes going to the bed they were currently sitting on.

She let out a strained chuckle when she deduced what he must've been thinking. "I didn't sleep with Damon. Well, I did, but I didn't have sex with him." She took a deep breath, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "I have feelings for him," she admitted, knowing that he would understand who she was talking about. She left it at that, deciding that he didn't really need to know that she was just as in love with Damon as she was with Stefan.

His jaw set, and his eyes distanced, but Elena could see the plain sadness in them, and the guilt started to settle in her stomach. His eyebrows furrowed deeply and he sighed, but gave a try at a small smile, even though he wanted to rip his brother to shreds. "In a way, I knew this would happen eventually." She nodded sadly, another tear making its way down her cheek, which he quickly wiped away. "I don't hate you, love."

She gave him a small smile of gratitude for being so understanding, but part of her kind of wished that he would blow up at her, that he would be disgusted. Anything. But that's Stefan for you. "I didn't mean for this to happen," she told him earnestly. "I still want to be with you. I can't let you go, Stefan." She could pretend she didn't irrevocably love Damon in order to be with Stefan. She could. And she will. She would ignore him, and she was sure that those feelings would disappear with time. She would pretend like the whole saved-his-life-and-cuddled incident didn't happen. And most of all, she would avoid bringing up their almost-kiss, which was still painfully fresh in her mind. "If I could take the feelings I have for him away, I would," she admitted.

He gave her a small smile of defeat. "But you can't."

She looked down at their hands, still entwined, and she was involuntarily reminded of when her hand was in Damon's, and shook her head a bit to clear it of the memory. "I'm sorry. You know I didn't want to be like Katherine."

"You could never be like her."

She gave him a small smile and leaned in to touch her lips to his. It was still there. The utter love that he felt for her and she felt for him was still there when they kissed, and for that she was relieved, but her thoughts couldn't help but drift back to the chance she had to press her lips against Damon's.

"He's right, you know."

Stefan and Elena broke apart their kiss and turned to the doorway, the source where that familiar voice was coming from, knowing whom they would see.

Sure enough, there was Damon, arms crossed across his chest and leaning against the doorframe with a smirk across his face. Elena looked down once she caught the look that went through his eyes when he saw her. Confusion, betrayal, longing. She looked to Stefan, but he was focused directly on his brother with a glare that was unlike anything Elena had ever seen.

"You're nothing like Katherine," he continued mercilessly, and Elena had a gut feeling that she wouldn't like what he would say next, because she knew that when Damon felt even the slightest bit betrayed, he was capable of saying anything without thinking about the consequences. "She, at least, admitted she wanted to be with the both of us."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that she deserved to hear this. It wasn't fair that she still chose being with Stefan over her constantly growing love for Damon, but she couldn't stand to be Katherine. She wouldn't be, so she was determined to do something that Katherine didn't even think of doing.

Make a choice.

"You're right," she told him, looking into his crystalline eyes that always managed to give way into his soul, something she was sure he had, even if he still questioned its existence. She turned to Stefan, slowly pulling her hand out of his grasp, blinking back tears as she did so. She went to stand in the middle of both Salvatores, looking back and forth at both of them. "Stefan, you know I love you. But I have feelings for Damon, and it would be unfair to the both of you to continue in this relationship." Stefan nodded understandingly, but she could see fury and rage buried behind the mask of calm that he was wearing. She turned to Damon, and when she was met with a smug smirk, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'm going to think about this. I promise I won't be Katherine. I won't make you two fight for me. I'll make a choice."

And with that she grabbed her keys and left the Salvatore boarding house, leaving both residents gaping after her.

Damon pursed his lips and turned to his younger brother. "Well, well."

Stefan looked up at him and narrowed his eyes. "I do hope you know that I will do whatever it takes so that you will never be with Elena. She's too good for you," he threatened, and went back to his room.

Damon chuckled. "We'll see about that."

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_D: (to Elena) "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn about anyone else."_

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**A/N: Chappie name is based off the song by Katy Perry.**

**REVIEW, my lovelies!!!!!!!! :]**


	4. Consequence

**A/N: Hehe, forgive me for the long hiatus? I hope so. School was really in the way and I've been mosly focusing on Last Name, but I really hope to be finished with this story before June. Not guaranteed, but I'm hoping. Okay, so you will most likely hate me by the end of this chapter, but I promise I'll make it up to you! Soon enough...:] Okay, so 1x15 totally screwed up my storyline but I'm sticking to it. We're just gonna pretend like Damon did kill Isobel, and Alaric is still a possible candidate for Elena's birth father. Oh, and she doesn't know Damon killed her. At least not yet. ;]**

**Disclaimer: Do you guys think that if I owned The Vampire Diaries, Elena would still be with Stefan? No? Didn't think so.**

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Elena furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at the three words that had been all she'd managed to find in herself to write in her diary.

_I can't choose._

She sighed, leaning back on her window seat, allowing the sun that was shining through her window to warm up her skin a couple of degrees, all the while thinking back when her life wasn't so complicated, when she just believed that Stefan was a normal teenager with a sardonic psycopath for an older brother, and her world revolved solely around a pair of soulful green eyes and not much else, and let herself relish in the past simplicity of it all, wondering how the hell everything got so messed up as she distractingly traced the edges of her vervain necklace.

A knock at the door took her out of her stupor and she got up with a groan, irritated because someone had interrupted her daydreaming.

When she opened the door, her eyebrows raised and she just gaped for a nanosecond before trying to shut it once more, only to be blocked by a boot.

"Elena, please."

She stepped back, crossing her arms across her chest, indicating that he could come in, but she wasn't happy about it. He gave her a small smile of gratitude as he stepped through the treshold, his eyes raking over the inside of her house, and her haw tensed, remembering what he'd done to Damon only several hours ago.

"What do you want, Alaric?"

"To talk to you."

She rolled her eyes, chuckling at his answer to the obviously rhetorical question.

"I knew that. About _what_?"

She arched an eyebrow, and in that simple action, that cold, apathetic movement, he realized that something was up. His eyes narrowed into slits and he cautiously took a step closer to her. "Why are you being like this, Elena?"

She grimaced. "Because you almost killed my--because you almost killed Damon," she finished, hoping the way that she was almost about to claim him as her own would go by unnoticed. It didn't, and Alaric was about to question it when she saw the fierce defensiveness that was shining in Elena's brown orbs, and thought it unwise to provoke the teenager any further.

He simply sighed, and instead of questioning her motives about caring so much--which he was sure would cause her to dismiss him and never even give him a second glance--he simply raised his hands in mock surrender.

"I'm sorry. I thought I was doing what was best in order to protect you," he told her truthfully and was relieved when a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips, but then it was gone, and she was back to staring at him like he was the plague, but this time, threateningly.

"Never go near Damon _again_," she warned, and the sound of such security in her voice had him nodding quickly without really having processed the possibilities. There's a loophole in everything, right? His eyes widened when he noticed something. A flicker of..._desperation_ in Elena's eyes as she was delivering her threat. Alaric understood. And at that moment he discovered, that she had feelings for _him_. Strong feelings for _Damon_, but it was obvious that she wished she didn't.

"I won't," he promised fervently, and was relieved when she seemed to believe him.

"Good." Her eyes warmed and her stance relaxed somewhat now that she was assured that Alaric wouldn't touch Damon, and she gave him an easy smile, almost causing his head to ache from her sudden mood swing. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

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He picked up on the second ring.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"That I totally see that you stare _only_ at my lips while I talk? I didn't want to humiliate you," he answered back slyly, and her jaw tensed, for she wasn't in the mood for his jokes, but couldn't help but curse herself for her obvious lack of subtlety.

"Damon," she growled.

She could almost hear his eyes roll over the phone. "What's got you purring, kitten?" At her obvious refusal to respond, he continued. "Elena, may I ask what you're referring to?"

She willed her tear ducts to stay at bay and forced herself to hate him, putting as much disgust and fury into her voice as possible. "Why didn't you tell me that you killed the woman who might be my mother?"

Silence crackled through the line and a tear made its way down her cheek, but she paid it no mind, focusing only on Damon's response, a small part of her hoping that he would deny it, tell her that he didn't know what she was talking about, and maybe then, she could pretend that Alaric was just a lunatic who didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

No response came and she squeezed her eyes shut, clicking the _END_ button on her cell phone, turning around only to find Damon's body less than two inches from her own, and she put a hand to her chest in surprise, but was quickly reminded of the original subject and the reason she was crying. Her lower lip trembled and more water pooled in her eyes when she noticed that his eyes were averted and his eyebrows were knitted together, lips pulling down into a sultry pout that would've had her drooling any other day.

But today...well, today it was down to business.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, and she shook her head wordlessly, tears continuously falling from her cheeks onto her shag rug, backing away with every step he took forward, yearning for her touch, wanting to assure her that everything was going to be okay, even if he was to blame for her misery.

He'd gladly help her through anything.

She would've noticed that had the focus on his compassion not been so blurred by the lines of his secrecy.

"Get out."

His lips set in a grim line and his eyes bore into hers with such an intensity that she suddenly felt self-conscious, despite the fact that she knew she shouldn't. He stepped forward, and she found that she didn't have enough willpower to make her feet step back. His hands went to her arms, and she flinched, partly because she was disgusted by him at the moment, and partly because any touch received by Damon sent her into a near frenzy.

"Let's be reasonable about this."

And just like that, she woke up. Out from under the temporary spell he always seemed to have her under and back in the real word. And she'd never understood the phrase _Reality's a bitch _more than she did at that moment.

"You think I'm being unreasonable? Really? I mean, maybe you're right, Damon. Maybe I am overexaggerating a bit. I mean, you didn't really do anything bad. You just knew that she was a possible candidate for my birth mother - probably the _only_ family I would have left - and neglected to tell me that you _sucked her dry_," she seethed, nostrils flaring and chest heaving with the force of her anger. "Get out," she ordered. "I'm not going to tell you again."

He stayed quiet for a moment before walking past her and into the hallway, but decided to turn around and add something.

"I never meant to hurt you."

She gave a twisted chuckle, turning around, and it killed him to see that tears were spilling down her cheeks once more. "But you did. A lot." He swallowed, and she hated the fact that she wanted him to stay with her when he was the culprit. "If it turns out that Alaric is my father, that means Isobel was my mother. You better hope that the praternity test results come out negative, Damon. Because, if they don't..." she trailed off, her lower lip trembling from the mere idea of never seeing him again. She shook her head, stepping forward. "Goodbye, Damon," she choked out before slamming the door.

He resisted the urge to snarl, wanting to rip off Alaric Saltzman's head off more than anything. But no, because if he killed Alaric, then that could possibly leave Elena without two parents, so he forced the vengeance instinct inside of him to recede and he sighed, looking at the closed door. He focused, and he heard Elena's quiet sobs on the other side of her bedroom door, and laid his forehead against the wall.

"Goodbye, Elena."

* * *

**REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :]**

**Chappie name comes from the song by The Notwist, which is pretty awesome.**


	5. Sleepwalker

**Chappie 5! Yay! I know what you're thinking - "Late much!" But part of the reason I haven't updated this in a while is also because I wanted to create a time gap in the story. **

* * *

"You know, I think it's best if we - ahh, Stefan!" She gets cut off as his hand takes hers and twirls her around into his broad chest playfully, keeping one hand on Elena's waist to make sure she didn't fall. She can't help the giggle of pure delight that escapes her lips. "What was that for?" she asks, unable to keep the grin off her face at his sudden spontaneity, because she adores it.

He ignores her question, instead giving her a small smile as he brushes the stray strands of hair out of her eyes, running his fingers against her skin. "Come here," he whispers, and she's more than happy to oblige, standing on her tiptoes so her lips can fully meet his. Her hands travel to his hair, where she runs his fingers through the chestnut locks. She feels him sigh into the kiss, and before she can ask what's wrong, he pulls away. "Yes, Damon?"

"Oh, don't stop on my account," he replies, and Elena's breath catches in her throat at hearing the voice of the man whom she hasn't seen or had any form of contact with for over a month. She turns slowly, a little too fully aware that her blood was pounding in her ears, but her anxiety wasn't her prime focus. Her attention was on Damon, who was leaning against the doorway with his arms across his chest, steely blue gaze fixed on her, and she hates that her heart sped up, giving away how she felt about his presence to the brothers.

_God, I forgot how beautiful he was._

But she never gave in to her feelings so easily, so she kept her chin up high as she met his gaze with as much intensity as he was giving off. "I was just on my way out anyways," Damon continues, grabbing his jacket from the sofa and draping it over his shoulders, hoping that neither of them will notice the desperation rolling off of him in waves at seeing them together. "Elena," he acknowledges on his way out, eyes staring directly ahead, not daring to glance at her once more, worried that his eyes will warm considerably like they tend to do around her, and she stares at his retreating form a little longer than necessary.

Once Stefan hears the front door shut, he takes Elena's chin between his thumb and index finger and turns her head toward him, eyes searching hers. "You're still upset with him."

She arches an eyebrow and scoffs at his ridiculous observation. "Of course I am. When someone I trust neglects to tell me something of extreme importance, it _tends_ to create a bit of tension," she tells him, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

His eyebrows furrow, and he keeps his eyes on the ground for a couple of seconds before looking back at her face once more, jaw slightly tense. "You trust Damon?"

"Yes," she answers without hesitation, but then reevaluates her answer a bit more. "Well...I used to." She gives a sigh, rubbing her temples. "It's complicated."

Stefan arches an eyebrow, trying to not let the jealousy overtake his features. "What happened to - and I quote - _self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities_?"

A ghost of a smile dances on Elena's lips as she's reminded of how much she used to truly loathe Damon, and she resists the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious hint of disbelief in Stefan's question. "It's true. That's what I used to think of him, but...I don't know. I've seen different sides of him that have convinced me otherwise," she answers, and she can see that her boyfriend couldn't believe a word that had just come out of her mouth, and she laughs, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around his waist. "He's _really_ not as bad as you make him out to be."

He chuckles, eyes alight with amusement. "Unbelievable."

"What?"

"He might've murdered your birth mother and yet, here you are, defending him."

She bites back a snort. "Just because I stopped speaking to Damon doesn't mean I stopped caring about him," she explains, but what she hears in her head is a completely different thing.

_...doesn't mean I stopped loving him._

She hates her conscience.

She shrugs. "It depends."

"On...?"

"On whether Isobel Flemming was my birth mother or not. I just have to meet Alaric - " Elena's eyes bulged, and she checked her phone. 4:54. She hastily put it back in her pocket and started for the door, fishing her keys out of her bag. "Shit. I have to go meet Alaric at the Grill. I'm over an hour late," she rushes. "He has the praternity results, and he wants to find out with me." Her hand lingers on the doorknob and she looks back at Stefan, who has nothing but amusement on his face and quickly goes back and gives him a peck on the lips. "Bye, Stefan, love you! I'll call you with the results."

Once she's in her car, she grips the steering wheel until her knuckles turn white.

_Time to find out whether Damon will remain a constant in my life or not._

With a deep breath, she backs out of the Salvatore's driveway and makes her way onto the road.

* * *

The Vampire Diaries, The Return: Shadow Souls

_"She cared about Damon. She really did, it was usually difficult being with him because  
they were alike in so many ways.  
Headstrong, each wanting their own way, passionate, impatient...  
She and Damon were alike."_

**

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**

Chappie name comes from the song by Adam Lambert.

**REVIEW! :]**


	6. Comes And Goes

**Chappie 6! **

* * *

Elena took a deep breath as she entered the Mystic Grill, gulping as she peered around. Once she spotted Alaric, she made his way over to the secluded booth in which he was seated. She found him fiddling with his fingers and he looked up when she seated herself across from him, surprise etching the features of his face before the teacher allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

"Hey," he started.

Her brow creased a bit as she stared at the envelope laying in the table between them as he moved to settle it in his hands, but she gave him a half-smile nonetheless. "That was gonna be my opener," she responded, hoping to alleviate the tension that had arisen because of what he was currently holding.

"Ready?"

"Not at all. Open it."

He chuckled, eyes crinkling at the corners and pursing his lips before hesitantly laying his hand over hers gently, waiting until her eyes met his so he could continue. "Elena, before I open the results, I just want you to know that I care about you. I'll always try to look out for you - bloodline or not."

She gave his hand a slight squeeze and sent a genuine smile of gratitude his way. "Thanks, Alaric."

He nodded, and her eyes fixed themselves on the envelope as he tore the flap open.

* * *

She made her way through the empty parking lot rapidly, wanting to get home more than anything else. Elena got in her car, laying her purse in the passenger seat before moving to close the door.

"Hello again," Damon said nonchalantly, holding her door open and serving as a blockade.

His snarky voice made her incline her head to the side in wonder before she looked up at him beneath her eyelashes and raised an eyebrow, posture straightening warily once she caught sight of the smug expression on his face.

"Yes, Damon?"

He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he leaned against her car, leather-clad arms going across his chest as he started. "Well, I couldn't help overhearing - "

"Don't you mean eavesdropping?"

"Refer to it as you wish," he countered, easily sidestepping her rhetorical question. "Point is, the teacher isn't your father."

Her shoulders slumped a bit, and her lower lip jutted out just slightly. "No, he's not." She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "You still can't kill him."

"Which means Isobel wasn't your mother," he continued, expertly ignoring that last sentence, although he knew he would abide by her wishes - albeit grudgingly going against his original intentions to tear the vampire-hunter's throat out.

She willed her tear ducts to stay at bay at the reminder that she still remained without the knowledge of who her biological parents were. "Right," she choked out.

Something like remorse tugged at his heart and he leaned down so his face was level with hers and ran the back of his index finger across her cheek, his own personal view of a comforting gesture. Elena gave him a small smile, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the undeniable and unusual warmth in his eyes being directed at her. He ran his hand through her hair, grasping her neck gently and leaning his forehead against hers, the tips of their noses touching. The corner of his mouth twitched when he heard her pulse accelerate.

"Thus meaning that you'll give me the time of day again?" he whispered.

She repressed the urge to shiver as his breath hit her skin. The electricity between them at that moment was palpable and Elena wanted nothing more than to lean the necessary inch so their lips could make contact.

_When someone I trust neglects to tell me something of extreme importance, it tends to create a bit of tension._

As the words she had told Stefan earlier that day ran through her mind, Elena sighed and backed away, gently prying Damon's long fingers from her neck as she stood up.

"I can't," she told him, finally answering his question.

He groaned, trying to hide how much her denial hurt him, although he saw it coming. After all, she _did _already tell Stefan she chose him, but he would be _damned_ - no pun intended - if he was going to let Elena go that easily.

"You are truly the most frustrating person I've ever met."

She turned, hand going to her hip as she breathed out a laugh of pure disbelief, eyes spitting fire at him when they raised to meet his gaze. "Look at the pot, calling the kettle black."

He rolled his eyes, making his way towards her slowly, satisfied when she didn't make an attempt to back away or get him to stop his actions. "Elena, I know you miss me."

She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?" She raised her foot, taking a step back when Damon was too close for her to be sure she wouldn't succumb to her desires, only to be met with the metal of her car pressing against her back.

He smirked, placing his hands against her car on either side of her head. "I heard how much your pulse sped up when you saw me," he whispered, leaning closer with each word he spoke, eyes dancing. "I saw the way your eyes held longing when you looked my way," he continued, hands traveling to rest at her hips. "I can practically _feel _the way your heartbeat goes into a frenzy if I give you even the slightest of touches." To prove his point, one of his hands moved to caress her cheek once more. She cursed her humanity when the blood rushed to her cheeks at his touch and her heart pounded against the confines of her chest.

"T-t-th-that last one h-had nothing to do w-wi-with me missing you," she stuttered.

He smiled, leaning in to kiss each of her still-flushed cheeks, letting his lips linger on her skin for longer than necessary, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. "Then what's the problem?"

This brought her back to reality, and she cursed him for it. Elena pressed a hand to Damon's chest and applied pressure, and while she didn't succeed in moving him, he got the hint and gave her some breathing room, trying not to show how much it disappointed him. She ignored how much she missed the close proximity of their bodies, taking a deep breath and looking up at him with guarded eyes.

"You didn't kill my birth mother, it's true, - "

"But?"

"I trusted you - "

His stomach coiled at her words. "Past tense noted."

She gave him a pointed look as she ran her hand through her hair, opting to continue. "And the fact that you chose not to tell me something so _vital_, something that you knew meant the world to me...I can't even begin to tell you how much that hurt," she said, eyes getting watery as she replayed the entire situation in her head. "And I still - "

"I thought you knew," he cut in, eyes determined as they bore into hers.

Elena couldn't resist the urge to grimace. "Are you serious?" Tears spilled down her cheeks as she shouted her incredulity at Damon. "How on _earth _could I have known that!"

He sighed, grabbing her by the shoulders, and his expression grew solemn when she squirmed out from underneath his touch. "I thought Stefan told you. I didn't even know I killed the woman who might've been your birth mother until he informed me," he answered truthfully.

Elena gripped the side of her car, hand flying to her stomach, trying to calm her breathing as more sobs wracked her body. She let herself slip down until she felt concrete beneath her palms, ignoring Damon's worried voice in the background.

_I thought Stefan told you._

Damon's eyes were clear as day and sincere when he uttered those five words, and that was the current cause of Elena's dismay. Aforementioned Salvatore sat himself down next to her, grabbing one of her hands and giving it a firm squeeze, somehow managing to convey his concern in that simple action.

"Elena?"

_I thought Stefan told you._

_That meant..._

"Stefan knew all along."

* * *

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening

_"She's not your type at all, my saintly brother.  
She has a spirit and a fire in her that you wouldn't know what to do with."  
"And you would, I suppose."  
Damon uncrossed his arms and slowly smiled again.  
"Oh, yes."_

**

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**

Chappie name comes from the song by Greg Laswell.

**Okay, so last chappie? Didn't get much love. Now, I'm gonna set up a review target for each chapter from now on, because I'm such a review whore. Seriously, every time I get one, it just brightens up my day, so I was disappointed when the last chapter didn't a lot of appreciation. I will not update Look After You until the review target has been reached. **

**Review target: 65**

**Please and thank you :]**


	7. My Never

Elena's jaw clenched and her eyes pooled with angry tears as Stefan's betrayal continued to consume her thoughts. Her fingernails bit into her palm as Damon's words ran through her head for what seemed like the millionth time.

_I thought Stefan told you._

That sentence might as well fave been a stab to her heart, for all the pain it was causing her. Damon's hand gave hers a slight squeeze and she was reminded of his presence.

"He...he _knew_? And he didn't tell me?"

The corners of Damon's lips turned up and his eyes danced, partly because he hoped to lighten the mood and lift Elena's spirits, and partly because this was just _too good_.

"Oops. Was I not supposed to divulge that information?"

Her reaction didn't meet his expectations. She didn't turn her head towards him and spit out an insult that would have them quickly engaging in an argument, something that would fuel her anger further and make him her central target. No, the only sign she gave that she heard him was the deeper slump in her shoulders that allowed her hair to serve as a curtain, shielding her face from view.

Damon frowned, blindly cupping her cheek and pulling her face towards him. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes glistened. Something akin to hatred settled in his stomach when he saw how the news undeniably _broke _her, and his fangs begged for release, aching to rip his little brother's throat out.

"I need to see Stefan."

His eyes searched hers when she broke the silence, and his jaw clenched when he saw the misery and hurt swimming in the chocolate depths. Even through her sadness, he found some amusement in the situation by knowing that she'd undoubtedly blow up at Stefan, and that was a show he wouldn't dare miss. He nodded, absentmindedly brushing his thumb over her chin before he stood up with a grunt, extending his hand out to help her up.

"I'll take you."

Her brow lowered, and she looked up at him through her eyelashes as she pushed herself off the ground, and he retreated his hand easily, chalking up her rejection to anger. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but I have a car. I am perfectly capable of getting myself somewhere on my _own_." She turned around and started heading towards the driver's side of her car, only to come face-to-chest with Damon. "Would you stop doing that?"

He ignored her and grabbed her arm firmly. "I'm taking you." She was about to argue, but he continued before she could. "We both know what happened when you were on the road after getting mad at Stefan." His tone left no room for argument, and Elena scowled at him, tugging her arm out of his hold as he lead the way to his Camaro on the other side of the parking lot while her heart sped up at his never-ending chivalry.

She opened the passenger door and got in, a strange wave of déjà vu washing over her as their trip to Atlanta replayed in her mind. It seemed like forever ago, with all the events that have occurred since then, and Elena couldn't help but reminisce about how she almost got the feeling that she could trust _Damon_.

Aforementioned vampire placed the key in the ignition and put the clutch in drive, turning the dial on his radio from a station that was blasting Lady GaGa in favor of AeroSmith with a grimace. "Music has taken a serious downgrade this century," he mused, and Elena rolled her eyes, resorting to tapping her fingers on the leather of his seats in rhythm to the music. The corners of his lips quirked and he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as they passed the long stretch of road, not daring to try and start up a conversation when she was like this - can you blame him? He wasn't in the mood to get yelled at.

A ghost of a smile danced on Elena's lips as she thought that it's certainly been quite the journey for her.

That time the previous year, she was just Elena Gilbert, an intelligent, well-liked girl in school with a mundane life and a sweet boyfriend in the form of Matt Donovan - what she considered _huge _vastly constitued of the guy Caroline had slept with or how far she'd let Matt push the boundaries of their intimate relationship.

She was _average_.

Now, well _now_, she was _Elena Gilbert_, an intelligent, well-liked girl in school who lived a dangerous life and had her heart torn between two vampire brothers - she willingly placed herself in life-threatening situations on a daily basis in order to protect aforementioned brothers and the ones she loved from the cruel world of the supernatural.

Her life was anything _but _average.

_I thought Stefan told you._

Her teeth grinded together and she cursed her train of thought for not being able to stray away from that sentence for long. She bunched up her hand into a fist and turned to gaze at the rushing scenery past the glass of the window as her dilemma splayed out in her mind, an unwelcome throb encircling her head as she debated.

It was true, she'd already assured Stefan that she chose him - that it was never any competition. Given, she said that when she was still blinded, unable to see through the blurry haze of Damon's secrecy, and believed that the younger Salvatore would _never _do that to her, but now...

Isn't her decision moot?

Damon had said the only reason he didn't inform Elena about killing her supposed birth-mother was because he thought she already knew, and she couldn't help but wonder if he would've come clean, had Stefan never been aware of the entire ordeal. Elena peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, and she knew he wouldn't have.

But that's _Damon_.

He was egotistical, self-centered, and narcissistic and he would never do something unless it benefited him as well.

Elena almost wanted to laugh, because, despite all that, she'd still managed to fall head over heels in love with the murderous jerk beside her. It would be funny, if it was anyone else's life, but it wasn't. It was hers, and her lips stayed in a grim line.

Her eyes flitted across the windshield and her throat thickened with a mixture of rage and dread when she could make out the Salvatore boarding house through the wide berth the clearing ahead of them provided. Damon silently watched as her chest rose and fell unevenly as her heart rate sped up. He placed the clutch in park and leaned back against his seats, not failing to notice that Elena's gaze remained intently on the house; he wouldn't be surprised if she burned holes through his windshield.

"Honk."

Damon blinked, surprised at hearing her voice for the first time after twenty minutes of unbearable silence. "Pardon?"

She glared at him, her hand moving quickly to wrap around the handle of the door. "Honk the fucking horn, Damon." She stalked towards the front door, aware that his eyes were on her retreating form, and internally thanked him when she heard the blaring sound of the horn.

Rage pulsed through her veins and made the blood in the pit of her stomach boil. _I thought Stefan told you_. Those words reverberated through her head like a mantra and she smiled with a twisted sense of satisfaction when Stefan opened the door, surprise etched across his features. She stepped forward and raised her hand, striking him across the cheek with an easy flick of her wrist.

Back in the car, Damon flinched, because _ouch_.

Stefan's eyebrows furrowed and he looked up slowly, confusion swimming in the jade depths of his eyes, and Elena forced herself to continue, because slapping Stefan, _right then right there_, had to have been one of the hardest things she'd ever done, and she despised the fact that it wasn't going to stop there.

"You knew."

His eyes traveled to the Camaro in the background quickly before he looked back to her, grabbing her arm, only to frown when she squirmed out of his hold. He jutted his chin in the direction of the house, and Elena begrudgingly followed him. "What did Damon tell you?"

She breathed a humorless chuckle as she closed the door behind her, because _of course_. "The truth. Which is more than I can say for you."

His face fell. "I...can't even begin to form words that would justify how sorry I am."

She briefly closed her eyes, trying to find the strength within herself to continue. "Then it's a good thing I don't want to hear how sorry you are. I want _answers_, Stefan." His jaw tensed and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "Why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to hear it from Alaric before I heard it from you?" His eyes trained themselves on the floor and she shook her head at his silence, moving to turn the doorknob. "You know what? Save your breath."

His hand was beside her head, holding the door shut, in an instant, and she inhaled deeply at his sudden closeness. "Elena, please," he whispered, and her breath caught in her throat, because she felt his breath hit her skin and she wanted nothing more than to _give in_, but she held her ground, refusing to give him the upper hand when she _knew _she was right. "I can explain."

"I don't want to hear it," she told him, exhaling sharply when her voice broke with each word, and the tears spilled down her cheeks when she felt his palm come to rest lightly on her shoulder. "Whatever your reasons were, I don't _care_. The fact that you didn't tell me as soon as you found out still remains." She moved towards the foyer, crossing her arms above her chest as she stared him down petulantly, although it was much less snarkier than she'd intended, considering the fact that her cheeks were flushed and tears continued to pool in her eyes.

His eyebrows lowered and he blinked, trying to process what just happened and the fact that it was _real_, not just some nightmare. He knew that he'd abide by whatever rule she made, and she held the fate of their relationship in her hands. Stefan was only there for as long as she wanted him, but that didn't mean he'd give up without effort, and jealousy settled in his stomach as he wondered whether or not she'd go to Damon.

"Where does this leave us?"

She embraced herself and shook her head absentmindedly. "I don't know."

"But you said you chose me," he offered.

She gives him a pointed look. "A decision that's null and void, thanks to your secrecy."

He stepped forward and Elena stiffened, looking down immediately because the near proximity of their bodies made it so much harder for her to focus on the bigger picture. "What can I do?"

"I don't think there's anything you _can _do," she admitted sadly. Her face contorted into a mixture of grief and frustration and she wound her arms around his neck without a warning. He heard her sniffle, then, "I can't be with someone who doesn't understand that trust is the most important thing to me."

He shut his eyes, slowly wounding his arms around her back, inhaling her scent, memorizing the lines of her frame one last time. He kissed her hair, frowning when he felt her tears on his back through his shirt. "Whatever you want," he assured her, and she stifled a groan.

She could not believe she was doing this. He was _Stefan_, the guy of any girl's fantasy. Prince Charming paled in comparison to the guy with his arms around her, and she remembered counting her blessings _so many times _for finding a guy that was _perfect _in every sense of the word.

She pulled away and grabbed his face between her hands, slowly tipping it downwards until her lips met his, butterflies flying about in her stomach just like they always did. She let her mouth linger on his for a moment before breaking the kiss with a resignated sigh, wounding her arms around his neck once more, leaning her forehead to rest against his.

"I love you. You have no idea how much."

His eyes searched hers, only to find that she was being sincere, and he didn't really know what to make of it. He gave her a slight nod as he held her closer, resting his chin on the top of her head, ignoring the way his eyes pricked with the threat of tears, because her admission made him realize that it was really, and truly _over_.

"I love you too."

She reached behind her neck and carefully unclasped the chain of the vervain necklace he'd given her so long ago. He was about to protest, but she shook her head slightly, and she placed the necklace in his open palm, closing it with her own hand. She ran her thumb gently across his lower lip before disentangling herself from his embrace, and she smiled at him as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

"Goodbye, Stefan."

She lowered her head and forced her legs to keep pushing her towards the door when she wanted nothing more than to turn back and run into his arms, but she knew there was no going back once she opened the door.

She crossed the treshold quickly before she could change her mind, and clutched at her stomach, bending over until the wave of nausea subsided. As Elena made her way to Damon's car, the waterworks endlessly streaming, she almost felt guilty to think that she almost felt..._relieved_. As if the weight that had been lifted off her shoulders traveled to rest on her heart, and she breathed a chuckle.

She sat herself in the car, and held up a hand to signify that she didn't want to talk about it when Damon's eyes roved over her face in adamant concern. "Just take me home." He did that eyebrow-furrowing thing that he's so good at before giving an almost inaudible sigh and backing out of the clearing.

When they were halfway there, rushing past the forest at sixty miles an hour, and Elena's tears had dried - even though the pain wrapping like tendrils around her heart had become stronger than ever - , Damon decided to break the silence.

"And here I thought slaps were _our _thing."

She hid her face so she wouldn't see her attempt to smother a smile.

* * *

The Vampire Diaries, The Return: Nightfall

_"And then Elena smiled, and he had to smile back,  
at first just a quirk of the lip, and then a full smile.  
She was...damn-it, she was _everything_.  
Witty, enchanting, brave, smart, and beautiful.  
And he knew that his eyes were saying all that and she wasn't turning away."_

* * *

**Reviews are the Damon to my Elena. Yes, I love them **_**that **_**much.**

**A/N: **First things first, the quote above is my favorite DE quote from the books _ever_. I'm so sorry I've stalled this update. My muse for this story has been seriously lacking, and I deeply apologize to all who've awaited. Anyways, thank you guys so much for meeting the review target! It means so much, and I won't make you do that again, but I do ask that you _please _review. It just makes me so happy to get on the computer and see my inbox completely _flooded_. But sigh, moving on...I hope to update this pretty soon. Keyword: _hope_. I am in a rut when it comes to this story. Suggestions for future plotlines would be lovely, and I'll be sure to credit :) BTW, it was so hard for me to write SE, so I don't know if it came out right, but oh well. Chappie name is based off the song by Blue October.


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